Senior Manufacturing Engineer - Space Technologies

Regular

The Space Tech Senior Manufacturing and Process Engineer is responsible for developing, implementing, qualifying, optimizing, and sustaining manufacturing processes for precision optical and electromechanical systems intended for space applications. Products include fast steering mirrors (FSMs), delicate optical components, optical bench assemblies, and integrated optical systems requiring controlled assembly, alignment, and performance verification.

This role serves as a technical lead within Manufacturing Engineering, partnering with Design Engineering, Optical Engineering, Systems Engineering, Quality, Supply Chain, Operations, and Test Engineering to translate product requirements into repeatable production processes. The engineer will lead process development and continuous improvement, support research and development and new product introduction, resolve complex production issues, and mentor engineers and manufacturing personnel while improving quality, yield, cost, safety, and delivery.

• Develop, document, validate, and sustain assembly, integration, alignment, and test processes for space optical systems, precision optomechanical assemblies, and fast steering mirrors.
• Lead manufacturing readiness activities from prototype development through design transfer, qualification builds, and production transition; identify process maturity gaps and implement closure plans.
• Review designs for manufacturability, assembly, alignment access, inspection, testability, serviceability, and cost; address tolerance stacks, datum strategies, and sensitivity to handling and assembly variation.
• Establish methods for handling, cleaning, protecting, packaging, and storing delicate optics and coated surfaces; define contamination, foreign object debris (FOD), and electrostatic discharge (ESD) controls appropriate to the hardware.
• Develop controlled bonding and curing processes, including surface preparation, adhesive mixing and dispensing, bond-line control, fixturing, shimming, cure parameters, and witness coupons or other verification methods as required.
• Develop FSM assembly processes for mirrors, mounts, flexures, actuators, coils, sensors, wiring, and cables; control polarity, cable routing, keep-out zones, flexure protection, and repeated handling during adjustment.
• Partner with Optical and Test Engineering to establish alignment sequences, metrology setups, reference datums, adjustment methods, and acceptance criteria for optical and electromechanical performance.
• Develop repeatable measurement and test methods for applicable requirements, such as mirror flatness, surface figure, wavefront error, boresight, line-of-sight stability, range of motion, pointing accuracy, repeatability, and dynamic response.
• Create and maintain controlled work instructions, process specifications, standard operating procedures, process flow diagrams, travelers, assembly aids, bills of material, routings, and tooling requirements.
• Design or coordinate precision fixtures, alignment tooling, optical handling aids, gauges, and test equipment; ensure production aids protect hardware and support repeatable assembly and inspection.
• Support equipment selection, installation and operational qualification, performance qualification where required, calibration, measurement-system assessment, and preventive maintenance planning.
• Establish process parameters, in-process inspection points, acceptance criteria, traceability requirements, and production controls; maintain process failure mode and effects analyses (PFMEAs) and associated control plans.
• Investigate nonconformances, optical performance degradation, bond failures, alignment drift, yield losses, and process…